Here's another one. Why raise the price of a temporary membership for tournaments from $5 to $10? It's like saying "sure the tounament only costs $35 but wait since you didn't give us $50 to join our club we're going to charge $45 to play" I've even saw a guy lose out on $1400 when he hit the ace pot because the TD didn't tell him that there was an extra fee for him to play. He told the TD he wanted to pay for the tourney and the ace pot but the TD didn't tell him about the extra fee for temp membership.

It's a great business model that the PDGA have. Have your members volunteer to do almost all of the work for free. Then charge those same member/volunteers for the services that they have mostly provided for themselves. Then call anyone that complains about it ungrateful.

geoloseth wrote:Here's another one. Why raise the price of a temporary membership for tournaments from $5 to $10? It's like saying "sure the tounament only costs $35 but wait since you didn't give us $50 to join our club we're going to charge $45 to play" I've even saw a guy lose out on $1400 when he hit the ace pot because the TD didn't tell him that there was an extra fee for him to play. He told the TD he wanted to pay for the tourney and the ace pot but the TD didn't tell him about the extra fee for temp membership.

The non-member fee was fixed over the last 20 years while regular dues have been increased several times. Seems like a good move to me.

geoloseth wrote:Here's another one. Why raise the price of a temporary membership for tournaments from $5 to $10? It's like saying "sure the tounament only costs $35 but wait since you didn't give us $50 to join our club we're going to charge $45 to play" I've even saw a guy lose out on $1400 when he hit the ace pot because the TD didn't tell him that there was an extra fee for him to play. He told the TD he wanted to pay for the tourney and the ace pot but the TD didn't tell him about the extra fee for temp membership.

The non-member fee was fixed over the last 20 years while regular dues have been increased several times. Seems like a good move to me.

So why don't they put the member fees back to the price of say 10 years ago and raise the temp membership fee. Then it would be practical and cheap enough for rec players to join the PDGA.

And sure the PDGA provides insurance and an organizations name for tournaments, but that'd about it. Invisible tree was right. Volunteers put on the tourneys for free and then they charge a per person fee for everyone on top of membership fees.

What's with requiring your SSN to register for a tournament. I don't even use it to get car insurance quotes what makes them think I'm going to hand it over to someone to write it down and keep it in their records. I don't know about other people, but ratings and points aren't so important that I would try to have a better player play under my name.

Wow, I've never had to give my SSN for any tournament I've played in...

Plus legally they can not force you to give that number.

However if they are paying you cash, at the time they issue you a check over the amount of 300$ they are required by law to enter that tax information on a w2 form, if you do not provide the SSN, you do not get your money.
It's just like a job, you do not get your pay check if you don't pay taxes on it.

Look at it this way, they provide great insurance for the tournaments, they provide a website that takes up a ton of bandwidth, they provide score records, ratings, a yearly subscription to a magazine for 10$, They host wonderful World caliber tournaments....
True the staff is volunteer, but the computer they use cost money, the electricity they use cost money, the phone number they use cost money, the etc.... you get the idea.
If you don't like it, don't join, pay the 10$ temp fee play only B-tier tournaments and below and be merry.

EDIT: On top opf that, if you ask the PDGA for help in gathering info for presenting a case to get a course put in your town, I bet they'd be more the willing to assist you in doing so, to help the sport continue to grow.

geoloseth wrote:

Jager wrote:

geoloseth wrote:Here's another one. Why raise the price of a temporary membership for tournaments from $5 to $10? It's like saying "sure the tounament only costs $35 but wait since you didn't give us $50 to join our club we're going to charge $45 to play" I've even saw a guy lose out on $1400 when he hit the ace pot because the TD didn't tell him that there was an extra fee for him to play. He told the TD he wanted to pay for the tourney and the ace pot but the TD didn't tell him about the extra fee for temp membership.

The non-member fee was fixed over the last 20 years while regular dues have been increased several times. Seems like a good move to me.

So why don't they put the member fees back to the price of say 10 years ago and raise the temp membership fee. Then it would be practical and cheap enough for rec players to join the PDGA.

And sure the PDGA provides insurance and an organizations name for tournaments, but that'd about it. Invisible tree was right. Volunteers put on the tourneys for free and then they charge a per person fee for everyone on top of membership fees.

If a TD ever demanded I give him my SSN to register for a tourney, he'd ban me from all his future events for the stink I'd raise. I will NOT put the possibility of stealing my identity in the hands of a random citizen with no understanding of the protection of such data. My family's dealt with identity theft. That is NOT something to take as lightly as the PDGA seems to think it should be. Even if the TD has only the most noble of intentions, cars get broken into, notebooks get lost, all manner of extraneous circumstances can land every SSN from that tourney in some theif's hands.

The computers and phones the tourney staff use weren't purchased just for the tourney(s), I shouldn't be paying for them to get fancy electronics I can't afford myself.

If I remember how the tax forms work, if I win more than $300, I should be able to tell them I'm going to 1099 it, and not have to have them deal with my SSN. They report my name to the PDGA, they put it on their books, and I handle all the tax stuff myself.

It's not like the PDGA can really get picky about the laws pertaining to their money. They don't do anything to say that gambling (the ace pool) isn't permitted at tourneys in states with laws against it.

rehder wrote:no point in ragging on the pdga for 2m rule. Complain to the TD, that chose to play with it.

AFAIK, no tournaments in europe employ the 2m rule.

Every tournament I play in has the 2M rule in effect. All the tournaments I'm the TD for (Including this years Colorado State Championships), have the 2m rule in effect (minus the Ice Bowl, cause that's a for fun for charity event).

IMO it was dumb to get rid of the 2m rule. Trees are part of the hazard on the course and if your disc gets stuck, you need to be punished.

Nice, didnt' realize you could just do that. That's what I'd do as well. Good call there.
My own College lost my SSN on a notebook that got stolen, so I see where you come from.

SkaBob wrote:If a TD ever demanded I give him my SSN to register for a tourney, he'd ban me from all his future events for the stink I'd raise. I will NOT put the possibility of stealing my identity in the hands of a random citizen with no understanding of the protection of such data. My family's dealt with identity theft. That is NOT something to take as lightly as the PDGA seems to think it should be. Even if the TD has only the most noble of intentions, cars get broken into, notebooks get lost, all manner of extraneous circumstances can land every SSN from that tourney in some theif's hands.

The computers and phones the tourney staff use weren't purchased just for the tourney(s), I shouldn't be paying for them to get fancy electronics I can't afford myself.

If I remember how the tax forms work, if I win more than $300, I should be able to tell them I'm going to 1099 it, and not have to have them deal with my SSN. They report my name to the PDGA, they put it on their books, and I handle all the tax stuff myself.

It's not like the PDGA can really get picky about the laws pertaining to their money. They don't do anything to say that gambling (the ace pool) isn't permitted at tourneys in states with laws against it.